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It's like déjà vu all over again -- but with better results the
second time around.

San Francisco-based ride-sharing startup Lyft is officially
coming to New York City tonight. Yes, it’s official this time.
Earlier this month, the company was set to begin its service in
Brooklyn and
Queens, two of the outer boroughs of the Big Apple. But the
launch was sidelined by the New York State Supreme Court.

But Lyft is back after a Manhattan Supreme Court judge signed off
on an agreement between the company and the city this morning.
The problem was that Lyft allows unregistered drivers to pick up
passengers. Uber, by contrast, uses drivers that are either
registered with a local Taxi and Limousine Commission-regulated
base or are Taxi and Limousine Commission-regulated taxis in New
York City.

In the last two weeks, Lyft and New York City regulators have
managed to find common ground. Starting at 7 p.m. tonight, Lyft
will launch in all five boroughs of New York City. The launch
will be a limited, “beta” rollout to begin with a full rollout to
come in a matter of weeks, according to a blog post from the company.

“This agreement is the first big step in finding a home for
Lyft’s peer-to-peer model in New York,” the post says. “Now that
we’ve outlined a path forward with state leaders, we will work
together to make peer-to-peer policy progress as we have in
numerous other cities and states.”

While regulators and innovators are chronically at odds, this is
proof that the groups can negotiate and find a solution. Though,
there is more work to be done.

In addition to working with city regulators, Lyft says it will
work with New York state insurance regulators to update policies.
Lyft service outside of New York City but in New York state --
namely in Buffalo and Rochester -- will be temporarily stopped by
Aug. 1 until statewide insurance policies are updated.